Patrick was 14 years old when the genocide began and as a result “had a pretty good idea” of what was happening. He survived a series of dramatic and threatening encounters with Hutu militias over weeks,
living thanks to an amazing amount of luck and smart moves by himself and his mother. Yet they “lived in total trauma for months” and witnessed “endless death.”
He was rescued by the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) and eventually moved to safety in convoy with others in a strategy reminiscent of the Underground Railroad. Most of his family, however, was brutally butchered to death and his mother, who he saved and later saved him, also passed away.
After the genocide Patrick tried to mend and did his best to survive. He experienced great hardship without a job but eventually gained a scholarship to University. He managed to arrange for proper burial for his family that were killed during the genocide.
Patrick now works at the Kigali Memorial Center and feels the need to give back to the community through his work; he wants to make a contribution by helping other survivors. As a survivor he feels a tremendous sense of responsibility.
3 Generations filmed Patrick at work in January 2008. This was the first time he had told his story on film, even though he himself works collecting the testimony of survivors. Information on the the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre may be found here.